ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the state of precarious work around the world and offer a roadmap to improve the quality of work for the most vulnerable. Humanitarian work psychology is a subset of industrial and organizational (I/O) psychology focused on using I/O psychology to improve human wellbeing and address multiple global problems. A news photograph taken in September 2021 perfectly illustrates the state of precarious work in countries like the United States. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the workers were classified as essential and were out delivering food to people who were not leaving their apartments or homes. Starting in early 2020, COVID-19 caused worldwide quarantines, created additional work-from-home options, saw travel restrictions implemented, and helped to gather the forces that can drive broader cultural shifts. The pandemic, while changing certain aspects of how work gets done, is unlikely to change workers’ expectations around what they fundamentally desire (e.g., respectful treatment) from the workplace.
